Name: Siraj Rehmat

Reg no: 2019-kiu-bs 474

Department: I.R (BS-V)

Course: foreign policy analysis

Submitted to: Mam Saadia Baig

China’s foreign policy in the wake of Russia-Ukraine crisis

Russian president Vladimir Putin’s decision of military invasion in Ukraine on 24 February 2022
has put the peace of Europe at stakes again, as the invasion is the largest conventional military
attack in Europe since World War II. Ukraine-Russia crisis has posed a huge challenge for the
international political community, including the great powers of the international system such
as China, United States, United Kingdom, France and Germany. Whole of the world is eyeing at
these nations to come forward and deescalate the tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Every
nation-state has its own foreign policy to follow in such times; owing to it every nation state is
looking to safeguard its national interest in one way or the other.

United States and most of the European nations have opted for the anti-Russian policy and they
have condemned the Russian military invasion in Ukraine, moreover they have imposed heavy
sanctions on Russia and accused it for threatening the European peace and for creating an
illiberal world order.

On the other hand, China one of the powerful countries in the international system seems to be
sitting on the fence and has adopted the non-interference policy over Ukraine-Russia crisis.

China’s state policy appears to follow a rational actor model, wherein China is looking for the
ways to get the best possible outcomes for itself amidst this crisis.

Importance in the trade sector

China is the leading trading nation in the world and it has strong ties with every trading nation
except for few. Beijing has cordial relations with Kyiv being the biggest trader of goods and
services from it; furthermore china imports its 90% of corn from Ukraine. Same is the case with
the Beijing-Moscow partnership. China is the largest importer of energy, minerals and natural
gas from Russia. The value of trade between Beijing and Moscow counts $146b as compare to
the trade value of $17b between Kyiv and Beijing. Hence Russia appears to be a potential trade
partner for china than Ukraine.

Importance in the context of Taiwan issue

China is in a delicate position in the Ukraine conflict, since whole world is looking at it to take a
side in this conflict and play its due role to de-escalate the conflict. However taking a side would
induce adverse shortcomings for china as well as for the world politics. If China backs Russia’s
aggression to make its own case stronger in the Taiwan conflict, however it may see a potential
trade blowback from the west and United States, which can be a heavy cost to bear.

But few days back China remained neutral in the UN Security Council and abstained from voting
over Ukraine conflict. This depicts that it does not want to interfere in the internal matters of
other nations and does not want other nations to interfere in its matters. It’s a sign of Beijing’s
non-interference. However China is still far away from condemning the military invasion and
the spokes person of the foreign minister refused to refer it as an invasion. In fact, Chinese
nationalist are arguing that it’s the best time for China to follow the suit of Russia and take back
Taiwan.

Political and economical importance

China being one of the biggest players in the world politics is considered as a highly important
political partner by every nation in the world and every nation wants to build strong ties with it.
China has the fastest growing economy in the 21st century. Certainly, China has gained a huge
stature and respect in the world politics after its quick economic and technological growth,
owing to it nation-states around the globe desire to be in good terms with it for their own
benefits in different ways. In contrast to this China has the advantage of choosing its partners
on will, having the quickest growing economy, as a result China will always make sure to protect
its own interest at the expense of other nations. In the context of Ukraine conflict it is best
suited for China to remain neutral to get the most beneficial outcomes and to sustain best
relations around the globe. Nominally China is supporting Russia’s military invasion in Ukraine
but it is reluctant to back it openly on world stage where it matters the most.

Ideological and strategical importance

When it comes to ideological and strategical value and affiliations of China, it is the closest to
Russia, having a similar strategical rival that is United States. Hence there is no second thought
that Russia and China are in close partnership at different fronts. China would like to maintain
these close ties with a mighty power like Russia, which in turn will benefit both nations in one
way or the other.
Conclusion

In a nut shell China’s foreign policy over Ukraine conflict will be a neutral one, wherein it will
nominally back Russia’s aggression; however it will never take a side as it may prove very costly
for it in many ways. Being neutral is in the best favor of China to sustain its good relations with
all nations around the world and to get the best out of this crisis.